Sooner than a bantha could deposit its latest load of digested fodder on the ground, the Jedi Exile and so-called "Spanner Boy" boarded the Ebon Hawk with Archivist Belaya in heavy tow. Once they all settled into the cockpit and main hold for takeoff, the aging vessel bucked like an unwilling drexl larva against a novice rider, then shot upward. Everyone clenched their teeth hard.

"Irritated Statement: I highly suggest I pilot the ship next time, meatba--!"

At that moment, a flash of twin silver lightsabers cut HK-47's words short.

"You can't do that very efficiently without a head, can you, assassin droid?" snarled the Exile. "I'm sorry if any of you are going to miss his company, but as far as I'm concerned, we won't need HK until possibly Cocyta. Agreed?"

Snickers and smirks from the rest of the crew. Affirmative, Tysy mused.

Archivist Belaya slowly rose from her seat in the main hold, commanding everyone's full attention. "Why have you brought me here?" she asked, her voice almost whisper-soft and infinitely sad. "I will tell you what I know, presuming this is an interrogation, but all of you should have let me die."

Tysyacha also rose and took Belaya's hands in hers. "This is not a typical interrogation," said the Exile, "but rather something that could save us all."

"That could doom us all, betrayer," she answered. "Fuel rendering is the least-painful and most useful death I could ever serve. If Mistress Shan captures me--and us--rest assured we will be tortured slowly and then put to some more menial purpose. She will spend us all in her service for years..."

"This I promise you," said Tysy, "that I shall protect you with full strength."

"I believe it," answered Belaya, a smile starting to crease the corners of her parched lips, "but I also believe you are not strong enough to defeat or even face my Mistress. Not alone. The strength of many is required, and I am near my own end even as I speak to you. Thus, I shall tell you of the Jedi Code."

"Yeah, yeah, we know all that," complained someone, and then "Next"!

Tysy slapped a hand over her mouth in full-fledged shock. Not because she particularly loved or hated the Jedi Code, but Belaya only raised her palms.

"The Jedi Code means different things to the Light of the Galaxy than it does to other Knights. Masters shall fall before her teachings, and exiles. Let me tell you what each line contains, the death it shall cause, and the cleansing.

"There is no emotion; there is peace.

"Mistress Shan believes that emotion, passion, and feelings are all paths that can lead to the Dark Side. Thus, if she is to rid the galaxy of all evil, she must destroy that part of us that feels. Only the part that thinks must survive." Puzzled expressions from the crew. "She will purify our minds."

"There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.

"Without emotions and base lusts and instincts getting in the way, the many followers of Bastila Shan will have nothing but facts. Clear, mathematical facts that bring true happiness to the diseased beings of this galaxy. We will know all and understand all, and the mysteries of all philosophy shall be as child's play to us. Even the Jedi Code, which the greatest Masters have failed to grasp in all its essence, will be as simple as the alphabet to explain. No one will ever be ignorant or prejudiced or fearful after Bastila rules over all.

"There is no passion; there is serenity.

"Passion, as all Jedi know, inevitably leads to the Dark Side. Without our feelings and emotions to lead us to such passion, we will all be at peace. Who would not want this, would not yearn to forsake the inner struggle that rages within? There will be no Dark Side if there is no passion--only Light. Children will be born in true love, not in corrupt lust. This is sin, and evil. Why would murder exist, or hate, or even the pettiest jealousies? All are passion.

"There is no chaos; there is harmony.

"Not only is my Mistress a benevolent one, but also a lawful one. Chaos is not only disorder, the clutter of a messy cabin or the shout-filled clamor of Nar Shaddaa. It is war and anarchy, what happens when wild animals are set free in a civilized city. Chaos means the breaking apart of the family, the nation, the planet, and the very galaxy at its logical end. Under Law, things come together and unify themselves as one great entity, settling into calm order. This order is what the Light will bring, and riots will no longer erupt at all...

"There is no death; there is the Force.

"In Mistress Shan's new world, there shall be no death or even what the unlearned and uninitiated call 'executions'--only rendering unto the Force. Those who refuse its embrace shall be torn from it, but they shall not die, only live as empty shells of the beings they once were. Do you understand?"